After Star Trek Into Darkness, many questioned whether there would be a third film set in the Kelvin Timeline. The road to Beyond was a rocky one that included a complete reset of script, writer, and director. But in the end, Simon Pegg, Justin Lin, and the cast and crew of this rebooted Star Trek delivered a film that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the franchise, and that has surprised fans and critics alike.

In this episode of The Ready Room, Matthew Rushing takes over the captain’s chair following news and is joined by John Mills and Bruce Gibson to discuss Star Trek Beyond: the characters, the story, the action … music, villain, and more.

In our news segment, Chris and Matthew discuss the end of IDW’s Ongoing comic series—plus the launch of a new one called Boldy Go—and the kick off of the 50th Anniversary Star Trek Art Exhibition “50 Artists. 50 Years.”

Feature: Star Trek Beyond Synopsis and Initial Thoughts (00:23:58) Character Growth (00:32:58) Jaylah (01:05:52) The Story and the Villain (01:09:48) The Music, Effects, and Design (01:22:46) The Action (01:29:09) The Very Last Question (01:33:31) Final Thoughts (01:37:52)

Uncontrolled power will turn even saints into savages. This is what Captain Kirk explains to Parmen, the sadistic leader of the Platonians in “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Despite saving the man’s life, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are held hostage and tortured—along with Uhura and Nurse Chapel—when they refuse to leave the doctor behind and accept some random gifts.

In this episode of The Ready Room, we’re joined by Aaron Harvey, Andi VanderKolk, and Mike Morrison to discuss this episode that—despite being amongst TOS’s campiest—has been an inspiration to many since it first aired in 1968.

In our news segment, Aaron shares a first-hand account of the Star Trek Beyond press conference held at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on July 14, and his spoiler-free impressions of the movie, which was shown the day before at LA’s Century City. We also discuss the news that there will be a fourth film set in the Kelvin Timeline and how they should handle the loss of Anton Yelchin.

Some things never go out of style. Take zombies, for instance. They’re wildly popular on 21st-century Earth, and they can be found in the 22nd-century Expanse as well. But what happens when you mix the living dead with logic? That’s what Archer and the crew of the Enterprise had to find out when they stumbled upon a zombified Vulcan crew in “Impulse.”

In this episode of The Ready Room, we’re joined by Mike Morrison, Dennis Castello, and Phillip Gilfus to discuss this horror story from Enterprise’s third season. We explore the Trellium-D conundrum, Jolene Blalock’s portrayal of a Vulcan losing control, parallels to DS9’s “Empok Nor,” and the importance of the coda that almost wasn’t. We also discuss the episodes’s amazing visuals and ponder the design of Starfleet’s 22nd-century hospital garb.

Plus, in our news segment, we look at details of the next Star Trek series as revealed by executive producer and showrunner Bryan Fuller, and we share our thoughts on Rihanna’s “Sledgehammer” and the use of non-orchestral music in Star Trek.

Dinosaurs may have been smarter than we think. Some of them may still be. That’s because they live in space and fly around in ships based on technology 65 million years more advanced than that of Starfleet. When that asteroid headed for Earth all those years ago, these hadrosaurs said sayonara to the planet’s mammals.

In this episode of The Ready Room, we’re joined by Zachary Fruhling and Aaron Harvey to discuss one of Voyager’s most unusual stories, “Distant Origin.” Does the science work? Does it even matter? We follow Voth scientists Gegen and Veer as they put together a galaxy-spanning puzzle made of 47 pieces. We discuss how the story parallels Galileo, Star Trek’s evolutionary arrow, the holodeck as a scientific instrument, the mating rituals of mammals, and more.

Plus, in our news segment, we debate the new name for the JJ Abrams rendition of Star Trek and take a look at the newly refurbished USS Enterprise model, now back on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.